I want to show you something:

That’s the t-shirt I got last year at the Lakeland 100 registration. It’s a competitors t-shirt, worn by those who took part.

I’ve never worn it.

I made that decision when I pulled out of the race last year because I didn’t feel I deserved to wear it. So it’s been sitting on my shelf ever since, teasing me. Taunting me. Challenging me.

John Kynaston has posted a list of his three goals for the Lakeland 100 – bronze, silver and gold targets that he’s aiming for. It’s a good way of spreading bets on a result but also a good mental support for runners. Setting a time goal alone is tricky because there’s always the chance that if your pace slows and you get it into your head that you won’t make the target and the thought of giving up becomes very, very tempting. Stu recently found that in the SDW100. I found it last year, after a fashion, because my head was not on the race but on the idea of not getting too tired to see my friend. Big mistake – my focus should have been on the race.

So this year I’ve already set up some targets and now, with two weeks to go, it’s time to share them.
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